Profile: Marcy Levine, concierge by morning, caterer by night

Marcy Levine

“East Windsor was a great jump-off point to everywhere else,” said Marcy. “It’s 45 minutes away from Philadelphia and just 30 minutes away from the Jersey shore. My family spent the summers at Beach Haven, N.J. and our winter vacations in Venice. I really wanted to live on the beach.”

Marcy grew up with three siblings, a brother and two sisters. Her father, Herbert, was a business owner and her mother, Shirley, was a stay-at-home mom.

“When I was around 10 my parents started their own industrial uniform company,” remembered Marcy. “As my brother and sisters grew older my dad brought us to work with him to learn what it was like.Working out in the heat was hard. My father taught me how to work hard while my mother was always compassionate.”

After Marcy graduated from high school in New Jersey, she set out on a six-year excursion to the Middle East.

“The movie Endless Summer made a huge impression on me,” smiled Marcy. “I thought it would be cool to see as many beaches as possible, and I liked the surfers on the beach. I packed my bags and decided to do some traveling. I lived in many different places like Israel, Amsterdam, France, Canada and Hawaii. I mostly traveled by myself, but sometimes with friends. Traveling alone was exciting and scary for an 18-year-old never having been away from my family before.”

Marcy lived on a kibbutz, a farming community, for two years in Israel.

“Israel had beautiful beaches as well as a rich history and culture,” recalled Marcy. “I lived on a kibbutz doing all kinds of different work such as picking oranges and hoeing cotton.
“I will never forget being in Jerusalem when Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat, and Menachem Begin signed the Peace Accord between Egypt and Israel. I also spent a year living in a tent on the border of Lebanon, moving and dismantling bombs. Israel was a great jumping-off point to Europe where I hitchhiked all over Holland, France and Greece, much to the horror of my parents. The entire experience was so much fun and gave me my true love for being at the beach and living where it’s hot.”

Marcy eventually landed back in New York, where she met her husband.

“We got married in Key West on a fishing boat,” Marcy laughed. “After 10 years of marriage we divorced and are still good friends to this day.”  

Marcy’s daughter, Alissa Beth Roegge, is her pride and joy.

“It was a really good point in my life,” smiled Marcy. “I was ready to be a serious parent. It was the best thing I ever did. She’s 17 now. I’m so proud of her. She’s won a lot of awards. She recently won tenth place in a national competition for ‘Embracing Your Differences.’ She took pictures and wrote something about how people are different and how they can still love one another. She also does a lot of volunteering. She’s a really great kid.”

Marcy moved to Venice where she was a stay-at-home mom.

“I moved to Venice so Alissa could go to Pine View High School for the gifted in Osprey,” said Marcy. “It was a privilege to be able to stay home with Alissa and be a full-time parent.”

While she was busy being a parent Marcy was also attending college part time.

“I earned my associate’s at Manatee Community College, currently known as South College of Florida, while I stayed home with my daughter until she was 8,” said Marcy. “My parents also helped me raise her. I couldn’t have done it without their support.”

Marcy was encouraged to seek employment in Boca Grande when she met Ryan Shaw, former executive chef at the Temptation.

“The water is beautiful in Boca Grande,” said Marcy. “I’ve been working in Boca for four years now, thanks to the encouragement of my boyfriend Ryan. We’ve been dating for six years now. I started out working during the days at Loose Caboose and at night for different catering companies. I like the fast pace, and I get to meet a lot of interesting people. Now I work during the day as a concierge to residents on the island. I am available for daily services off and on-island. I run errands, grocery shop and other services as needed. I like this type of work. It’s really nice to help others and make them happy.”

Marcy’s love for the beach cannot be contained. She still travels when she can, but always lands back in Boca Grande.

“This summer I worked in Honomu, Hawaii for TR’s Catering Company,” said Marcy. “They are pretty busy all year round in Hawaii. It is a little different there. The Kona side would be more like Boca, with white beach sand, but I was on the rain forest side of Hawaii. It was nice and cool, never above 82 degrees. It was a lot of fun to work in a totally different environment, but good service is good service anywhere.”

When Marcy lost her sister to cancer five years ago, it changed her life.

“My sister was hilarious and had a really good heart,” Marcy recalled. “She was a great mother. She is greatly missed. Losing her was a real wake-up call. It made me want to embrace life and all good things.”

Marcy moves forward with her daughter’s future in mind.

“Next year my daughter goes off to college,” Marcy said. “We will be taking a trip up north depending on where she gets accepted, so we will be doing some traveling together. I look forward to the future. The best is always yet to come.”